Chair back rest joint

ABSTRACT

Chair back rest is joined to the supporting upright thereof by two mating clevises pivotally held together by a pin. The pin is retained in place by an inverted, substantially U-shaped bumper which frictionally engages the top portion of the upright and the forked ends of the outer mating clevis. In a preferred embodiment, the downwardly-depending legs of the bumper are provided with latching means at the terminal portion thereof.

United States Patent 1 Good 1 Jan. 2, 1973 [54] CHAIR BACK REST JOINT OTHER PUBLICATIONS Inventor! Wayne Good, Sturgis, Mich- German printed application 1,072,016, Scholz [73] Assignee: Harter Corporation, Sturgis, Mich. 12/ 1959' [22] Filed: July 1971 Primary Examiner-Andrew V. Kundrat [211 App]. No.: 167,322 Attorney-Gordon W. Hueschen et al.

Related U.S. Application Data [57] ABSTRACT [63] fgf g g sggt 'gg of Chair back rest is joined to the supporting upright thereof by two mating clevlses pivotally held together [52] U.S. Cl ..287/100, 297/353 y a p The p is retained in place y an inverted, [51] Int. Cl ..Fl6c 11/00 substantially U-shaped bumper which frictionally en [58] Field of Search ..297/353, 354; 287/100; 16/169 gages the top portion of the upright and the forked ends of the outer mating clevis. In a preferred embodi- [55] References cued ment, the downwardly-depending legs of the bumper UNITED ST ATES PATENTS are provided with latching means at the terminal portion thereof.

1,303,293 5/1919 Gries ..287/100 3,326,602 6/ 1967 Moore et a1... ..297/353 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJ'AM ems 3,708,189

SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR.

WAYNE w 000 f/gz/re 5 6 ua/i} ATT CHAIR BACK REST JOINT CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is acontinuation-in-part of US. Ser. No. 067,068, filed on Aug. 26, 1970, and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known to provide hinged connections between a chair back rest and the supporting upright thereof; however, the hinge mechanisms employed have been difficult to assemble and usually contain sharp projections which tend to catch and sometimes even tear a suit or dress as a person brushes past the back side of such a chair. It is an object of the present invention to obviate such shortcomings and at the same time to provide an effective, yet inexpensive, juncture means fora pivoting chair back rest. It is a further object to provide a juncture means which can be readily assembled and disassembled as required. Still other objects will readily present themselves to one skilled in the art upon reference to the ensuing specification, the drawing, and the claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention contemplates a juncture which comprises a pair of mating clevises pivotally held together bya transverse pin. One of the clevises is mounted on the chair back rest and the other on the supporting upright thereof. A substantially inverted U- shaped bumper or cap is fitted over the clevises thereby retaining the pin within the clevises. The bumper or cap frictionally engages the top and the sides of the upper portion of the chair back rest supporting upright and also the forked ends of the outer mating clevis. In a preferred embodiment of this invention the downwardly-depending legs of the bumper are provided with a latching device at the terminal portions thereof which is adapted to engage at least a portion of the lower edge of the outer clevis. In another preferred embodiment projecting abutments at the terminal portions of the depending legs abut against the face of the upright toward the back rest.-

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the juncture of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a bumper provided with a latching device;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the bumper shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a clevis to be mounted on the chair back rest and provided with beveled end faces on the forked ends thereof;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the bumper of this invention; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom 'view of the bumper shown in FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, chair back rest 10 is provided with clevis 1 1 having forked ends 12 and 13 adapted to receive pin 14 transversely through holes 15 and 16, respectively. Clevis 11 can be mounted on back rest 10 in any convenient manner such as by bolts 17, 18 and 1; by spot-welding; or the like.

Chair back rest upright 20 is similarly provided with clevis 21 the forked ends of which are provided with holes such as hole 23 in forked end 22 adapted to receive pin 14 transversely therethrough. Clevis 21 is adapted to mate with clevis 11 so that holes 15, 16, 23 and the corresponding hole (not shown) on forked end 24 are in alignment and can receive pin 14 therethrough. Preferably clevis 21 is the outer or exposed member of the resulting pivoting juncture. The end faces of forked ends 12 and 13 are beveled so as to provide a desired degree of pivoting about the longitudinal axis of pin 14 as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, bumper 25 is shaped substantially as an inverted U and is adapted to frictionally engage the top and sides of the upper portion of upright 20 and also forked ends 22 and 24 of outer clevis 21. By extending over forked ends 22 and 24, bumper 25 effectively retains pin 14 within clevises 11 and 21 without limiting or affecting the pivoting ability thereof.

Downwardly-depending legs 26 and 27 are provided with inwardly projecting flanges 28 and 29, respectively, which are adapted to frictionally engage lateral sides 30 and 31, respectively, of upright 20. Abutment 32 situated in the central portion of the inverted U-shaped bumper is adapted to bear against the face of the top portion of upright 20 situated toward back rest 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in a preferred embodiment of this invention, bumper 25A is provided with inwardly extending flanges 33 and 34 and with downwardly depending legs 26A and 27A having flanges 28A and 29A, respectively, which serve the same purposes as those discussed hereinabove in connection with FIG. 1. Similarly, abutment 32A serves the same purpose as abutment 32 of FIG. 1;Inwardly extending flanges 33 and 34 act as latch devices which engage at least a portion of the lower edge of outer clevis 21 and thus assist in retaining bumper 25A over the pivoting back rest-upright juncture.

Bumpers, such as 25, 25A, and 2513, can be made of any suitable material such as plastic, metal, wood, or the like, and can be molded or machined to the desired shape in any convenient manner. Preferably the downwardly-depending legs such as 26 and 27 form about a right angle with the central portion of inverted U- shapedbumper 25 and are sufficiently flexible to spread apart slightly as bumper 25 is placed in position and to snugly engage sides 30 and 31 of upright 20 and also forked ends 22 and 24 of clevis 21'. some flexibility is particularly desirable in instances where bumper such as 25A is provided with latch devices such as flanges 33 and 34 or where a bumper such as 2513 is employed. A moldable acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene resin is a particularly suitable material of construction which possesses the desired flexibility together with durability and structural strength.

,In another preferred embodiment, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, bumper 25B is provided with inwardly projecting abutments 35 and 36 which are adapted to bear against the face of upright 20 below mating clevises 11 and 21 (FIG. 1). Downwardly-depending legs 26B and 278, having flanges 28B and 298, respectively, serve the'same purposes as those discussed hereinabove. In the same manner abutment 32B functions similarly to abutment 32 of FIG. 1. Projecting abutments 35 and 36 assist in keeping bumper 25B aligned when it is put in place. Preferably projecting abutments 35 and 36 are provided with respective sloping faces 39 and 40 at an acute angle from the faces of projecting abutments 35 and 36 which bear against the face of upright 20. Sloping faces 39 and 40 facilitate assembly when bumper 25B is snapped in place over clevises 1 l and 21.

Optionally, detents 37 and 38, extending inwardly from respective legs 26B and 278, can be provided spaced from the aforementioned inwardly projecting abutments 35 and 36. Detents 37 and 38 bear against the upper edges of the forked ends of the outer one of mating clevises 11 and 21, and preferably are spaced from. abutments 35 and 36 so that the forked ends of the outer one of mating clevises 11 and 21 are received and held therebetween. Additionally, detents 37 and 38 serve to impart additional structural rigidity to downwardly-depending legs 26B and 27B of bumper 25B.

The foregoing discussion of the preferred embodiments of this invention is intended as illustrative but notlimiting. Still other variations and rearrangements of parts within the spirit and scope of this invention will readily present themselves to the skilled artisan.

lclaim: v a

1. A' combination adapted to form a pivoting juncture between a chair back rest upright and a chair back rest comprising a first clevis fixedly mounted on said back rest with the forked ends of the clevis projecting outwardly from said back rest and being adapted to receive a pin transversely therethrough;

a second clevis fixedlymounted on said upright with the forked ends thereof extending toward and adapted to mate with the forked ends of said first clevis .and to receive a pin transversely therethrough; g

a pin slidably disposed through the forked ends of saidclevises and pivotally securing said clevises to each other; and

a substantially inverted U-shaped bumper frictionally engaging the top and the sides of the upper portion of said upright and also frictionally engaging the forked ends of the outer of said mating clevises thereby retaining the pin within said clevises.

2. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein theterminal portions of the legs of said inverted U-shaped bumper are provided with an inwardly extending flange acting as a latch device adapted to engage at least a portion of the lower edge of the outer clevis.

3. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inverted U-shaped bumper is provided along both downwardly depending legs thereof with inwardly projecting flanges adapted to frictionally engage the sides of the upper portion of said upright, and along the central portion of said inverted U-shaped bumper with an abutment adapted to bear against the face of the top portion of said upright toward the back rest.

' 4. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the terminal pjortions of the downwardly depending legs of said -shaped bumper are provided with inwardly projecting abutments adapted to bear against said upright below said mating clevises and on the face thereof toward the back rest.

5. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the U-shaped bumper is provided with inwardly projecting detents on the downwardly depending legs of said bumper, adapted to bear against the upper edges of the forked ends of the outer of said mating clevises. I

6. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the U-shaped bumper is provided with inwardly projecting detents on the downwardly depending legs of said bumper, adapted to bear against the upper edges of the forked ends of the outer of said mating clevises, and wherein the terminal portions of the legs of said bumper are provided with inwardly projecting abutments adapted to bear against the face of said upright toward the back rest below said mating clevises.

* an v 

1. A combination adapted to form a pivoting juncture between a chair back rest upright and a chair back rest comprising a first clevis fixedly mounted on said back rest with the forked ends of the clevis projecting outwardly from said back rest and being adapted to receive a pin transversely therethrough; a second clevis fixedly mounted on said upright with the forked ends thereof extending toward and adapted to mate with the forked ends of said first clevis and to receive a pin transversely therethrough; a pin slidably disposed through the forked ends of said clevises and pivotally securing said clevises to each other; and a substantially inverted U-shaped bumper frictionally engaging the top and the sides of the upper portion of said upright and also frictionally engaging the forked ends of the outer of said mating clevises thereby retaining the pin within said clevises.
 2. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the terminal portions of the legs of said inverted U-shaped bumper are provided with an inwardly extending flange acting as a latch device adapted to engage at least a portion of the lower edge of the outer clevis.
 3. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inverted U-shaped bumper is provided along both downwardly depending legs thereof with inwardly projecting flanges adapted to frictionally engage the sides of the upper portion of said upright, and along the central portion of said inverted U-shaped bumper with an abutment adapted to bear against the face of the top portion of said upright toward the back rest.
 4. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the terminal portions of the downwardly depending legs of said U-shaped bumper are provided with inwardly projecting abutments adapted to bear against said upright below said mating clevises and on the face thereof toward the back rest.
 5. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the U-shaped bumper is provided with inwardly projecting detents on the downwardly depending legs of said bumper, adapted to bear against the upper edges of the forked ends of the outer of said mating clevises.
 6. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the U-shaped bumper is provided with inwardly projecting detents on the downwardly depending legs of said bumper, adapted to bear against the upper edges of the forked ends of the outer of said mating clevises, and wherein the terminal portions of the legs of said bumper are provided with inwardly projecting abutments adapted to bear against the face of said upright toward the back rest below said mating clevises. 